When he coached the AFC Pro Bowl team in February, Gary Kubiak became an even bigger fan of Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew.

In his first six seasons with the Jaguars, Jones-Drew ruined a lot of Sundays for Kubiak and the Texans. Now he's trying to ruin another one this weekend at EverBank Stadium.

After coaching Jones-Drew, Kubiak wasn't surprised that the running back could end his holdout last week, practice three times and rush for 77 yards on 19 carries in a 26-23 overtime loss at Minnesota.

"I didn't know him personally or what he was all about, so in Hawaii I just watched him work, watched how he handled himself," Kubiak said while preparing for Sunday's game. "He takes great care of himself, and I knew he'd be ready to go when he came back.

"It's a big challenge for us. He's obviously a great player. He's going to get his touches. He's very difficult to tackle, so we've got to put a big emphasis on tackling and finishing plays."

Jones-Drew worked with Kubiak and his assistants at the Pro Bowl. He developed a new respect for a staff that has helped the Texans defeat the Jaguars in their past three meetings.

"The best thing was that I got to hang out with some of their coaches and try and pick their brains a little bit," Jones-Drew said Wednesday. "I think they thought I was being nice, but I was trying to get everything I could out of them. I didn't get much, so they did a good job with that.

"They're a great group of guys, very competitive. They instill that in their players. With that, you know they are very simple. They run certain coverages, and they are going to play man. They're going to press you.

"They're going to send five (rushers). You just have to block it up and try and make plays. They do a great job at that."

Not idle during holdoutMaybe Kubiak should have encouraged the 5-7, 210-pound Jones-Drew to extend his holdout into the regular season, at least through the second game. He didn't get a new contract after leading the NFL in rushing last year with 1,606 yards.

"I knew going into this thing it was going to be a long shot and it would take a while to try and get it figured out," Jones-Drew said. "You prepare yourself for those things.

"Every time I went to work out, which was pretty much every day, it was with the mindset of trying to make it as tough as it could be — two-hour running sessions, two-hour lift sessions, coming back and getting extra cardio — whatever it might have been, just to have that mental toughness once I got back."

The Vikings were his first game back, and Jones-Drew was supposed to be a third-down back behind starter Rashad Jennings.

"Jennings was injured, and that was one reason he had 19 carries," said Mike Mularkey, the Jaguars' new coach. "I wasn't planning on 19. I'm glad he was available to us.

"I didn't really have a number going into the game. We had specific packages we were going to get him involved with."

New playbook to learnWhen Jones-Drew reported, he had to learn Mularkey's offense.

"All the pressure of learning the playbook, getting comfortable with the plays, the terminology, I thought that it went well," Jones-Drew said. "I was healthy, fast, fresh. I felt great.

"I played a little bit more than we thought I would. At the same time, my conditioning was there. Obviously, you still have to work. Everybody was a little gassed on some of those 18-play drives we had.

"We still have to keep working on that, and, as the season goes on, you'll get in better game shape."